Appointments Dominate BOE Meeting

At the Board of Education meeting Tuesday night,  said that he expected the East Haven schools to be fully staffed when the district opens Sept. 1.

“It looks like we should be fully staffed for opening day,” the superintendent said, as he observed that only one position remains unfilled. He pointed to what he described as a long list of replacements, with some transfers and some switches, in the staff changes that are taking place.

At its August meeting, the board officially appointed 12 persons to full and part-time positions. It recognized three retirements and one resignation.

The board changed two appointments to substitute positions – these, for assistant caregiver positions in the Little Jackets childcare program - after it had requested a better accounting of the number of children who would participate in the program this school year.

“I can get by. I can definitely get by,” said Cathy Finkle, Little Jackets program manager, of her current staffing. She placed the present caregiver to student ratio at roughly one to 10, while noting that, at this early date, enrollment in the town-funded program has dropped by 45 students.

The superintendent noted that the addition of one person to the English Language Learner, or ELL staff, would enable it to assist roughly 250 students who are not proficient in the English language.

With some gusto, athletic director Michael Morane noted that a former member of the World Wrestling Federation will now fill the position of assistant volleyball coach at the  

“He’s gained some weight since he left wrestling,” the athletic director observed of the staff member.

The Center district received three new appointments, with second grade teacher Jillian Jack and Stephanie Ottochian, the ELL teacher, assigned to the . Stephanie Tomasello was approved for the position of caregiver in the Little Jackets program at the

Daniel Trzcinski will become a culinary teacher, and Anthony Cofiancesco will become the assistant volleyball coach at EHHS, with five appointments – Richard Zucchetto and Jordan Vollono, both special education teachers, and, William Yerkes and Jacqueline Sheltman boys and girls soccer coach, respectively, joining cheerleading coach Maria DeSarbo at the. 

Retiring from the district are Ingeborg Hutchinson, a teacher and district math coach, Philip Sciarra, who served as a custodian at the and Ann Ciaramella, a cafeteria general worker at the Joseph Melillo Middle School. Claudia Didiano, a cafeteria satellite hostess at the Tuttle School, resigned.

In other matters, the BOE noted that it expected the school district bus schedules to go up on its website Wednesday afternoon.  

Also, the superintendent said that the district had sent out letters in Spanish and English to counsel parents on their rights to free and reduced school lunches within the district’s student lunches program.